1/31/09

single shot - at the circus

at the circus

Harpo in his element

1/26/09

pearls and lace

pearls of the deep - globe buffet 1


A headless bride in the thick of the night should appear more disturbing than this.
But its such a lovely vision, a beautiful, ghostly vision,
looking for all the world like a winged victory,
rather than a woman with clouded vision.


pearls of the deep - globe buffet 4


pearls of the deep - globe buffet 2


pearls of the deep - globe buffet 3


Perlicky na dne (1966)
aka Pearls of the Deep
Automat Svet segment, directed by Vera Chytilova

1/23/09

single shot - dying swan

dying swan (1917)


Umirayushchii Lebed
aka The Dying Swan (1917)
directed by Eugeni Bauer

1/21/09

...and now the work begins

Christ in Concrete 5

Christ in Concrete (1949)
directed by Edward Dmytryk
...with this most Vorkapichian montage sequence

Christ in Concrete 3

Christ in Concrete 1

Christ in Concrete 2

1/19/09

awards

This past week I was presented with the Dardos Award, graciously bestowed by DCairns of one of my favorite blogs Shadowplay.

One of the duties and responsibilities that this honor mandates is to award 5 other worthy participants in this blog world. There are loads - these are just a few of my current obsessions.

House of Mirth and Movies - for consistently insightful observations
The Easy Ace - for the mind-blowing amount of research that goes into each post
Monster Crazy - for continued high quality curating of images blog-wide
Scouting NY- for helping to continue movie fantasy in real life
Go Fug Yourself - for top-notch writing. I have no idea who the featured non-film celebrities are, but the caption writing is superb. These two should be dialog writers in Hollywood as they are our only chance of a screwball comedy resurgence.

1/15/09

chiaroscuro

twilight of a woman's soul 2

Sumerki zhenskoi dushi
aka Twilight of a Woman's Soul (1913)
directed by Evgeni Bauer
cinematography by Nikolai Kozlovski

twilight of a woman's soul 1

This film could serve as the visual definition of chiaroscuro in a pictorial dictionary of film.
Hell, Bauer should have his own book if not a landmark named for him.

1/14/09

two eyes in multiples

Hell On Frisco Bay's Brian has posted his annual top ten list of Bay Area rep theater screenings,
including contributions from other cinephiles all over town - even me.

The listings by my neighbors never fail to inspire me to improve my
movie-going attendance in the future. Go see and marvel at the amazing
variety of film selections this town had to offer this past year.

1/12/09

beautiful light flares 6

light flare - narrow margin
The Narrow Margin (1951)

light flare - the lodger 1944
The Lodger (1944)

light flare - one hour with you
One Hour With You (1932)

light flare - sunset blvd
Sunset Boulevard (1950)

light flare - 14 Hours
14 Hours (1951)

light flare - xmas in connecticut

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

1/8/09

night train

Photobucket

Photobucket

Pociag aka Night Train (1959)
directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
cinematography by Jan Laskowski


Photobucket

Beautifully shot.
For most of the film the stunning cinematography is star,
then a twist in the plot suddenly brings all of the
other elements together.
Its though it starts out Antonioni and ends up Hitchcock.

1/5/09

film blanc - lady on a train

light flare- Lady on a Train (1945) 1

light flare- Lady on a Train (1945) 2

As much as I love deep shadows that are integral to films noirs,
I'm also deeply fascinated with light flares and hot points
where the light washes out a large portion of the images in the frame.

Sometimes this bright glare is so strong that I can't even focus on a frame still.
It takes my eyes a few seconds to find an image within the brightness.

Its especially striking when this phenomenon enhances the image-
in this case the artificiality of her pose and the surreality of a fashion
photography session in the corridor of a jail house.


light flare- Lady on a Train (1945) 3

light flare- Lady on a Train (1945) 4

Lady on a Train (1945)
cinematography by Elwood Bredell

1/1/09

New Year's Day 2009

NY09 Death of a Cyclist
Death of a Cyclist

NY09 He Walked By Night
He Walked By Night

NY09 Island in the Sky
Island in the Sky

NY09 Holiday Affair
Holiday Affair

NY09 Woman in the Window
Woman in the Window

NY09 Black Friday
Black Friday

NY09 Cottage on Dartmoor
A Cottage on Dartmoor

NY09 Alibi
Alibi

NY09 Invisible Ray
The Invisible Ray

"Time doth flit;
Oh, shit."
Dorothy Parker in Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle (1995)

What an incredible year, 2008.
While for me it was a busy and sometimes overwhelming one,
at least in relation to this blog it was a time of
incredible growth and so much fun.
Thank you, dear readers, for all your wonderful support.
I really appreciate your comments and e-mails, links and referrals.
I enjoyed discovering fantastic new sites and sometimes even getting to
meet my fellow bloggers in person.
This is a great community and I'm happy to be a part of that.
Here's to a great new year.